Known Enemies
by sparkerius
Summary: basically Kono has to go on a mission to prove a friend innocent.  Steve is there to help her along.
1. Chapter 1

Kono steps out of the tattered wooden shed, wearing a black tank top and jeans, which seem almost brown from dirt. Her hair is messy and full of dust, dirt marks cover her face, and she is weak and has a limp. Evidence of gunfire and an explosion is all around. Three men start running towards her. She can barely see their faces through her tears. She collapses onto her hands and knees before they reach her. Her tears are soaking the ground in front of her. Steve reaches her first. He says nothing to her just kneels beside her and holds her close to him. She can't hold back the tears. She sobs into his shirt. Her sobs are continuous. Danny and Chin reach the two on the ground and are frantically asking if she is ok. Kono can only hear muffled sounds through the helicopters and sirens…. 

2 Days Earlier: 

"Hey Brah."  
>Kono seemed cheerful as she walked into the office and greeted Steve. Steve lifted his head from the work he was focusing on and gave her a half smile.<br>"New Case?"  
>Danny walked in before he could answer her, followed closely by Chin.<br>"Hope you guys are rested…new case from the governor. Apparently there is a new wave of abductions and drug trafficking hitting our shores."  
>Steve pulls up three photos on the screen for the team to look at.<br>"Our 3 top suspects…apparently they all lived in…"  
>He paused as he took notice of the expressions on the faces of Chin and Kono. Kono seemed especially taken back by the photo she saw in front of her.<br>"You know one of them?" asked Steve.  
>Kono stared blankly at Steve. No words could make their way out of her mouth. Chin interjected when he noticed his cousin was at a loss for words.<br>"The middle guy, Brian, he was a close…friend of Kono's years ago. He left the islands a couple of years back."  
>Chin replied to Steve, while keeping an eye on his cousin.<br>Danny, seeing the awkwardness interrupted.  
>"What's he supposed to have done? "<br>Steve found it difficult to take his eyes off Kono. She seemed so lost in the thought of her friend involved in Drugs.  
>"Uh.. he is suspected of being the local distributor".<br>He stared at Kono a little more, waiting for her response.  
>"NEVER!"<br>Finally words came out of Kono's mouth to the surprise of all three men. Steve tried to be gentle.  
>"Do you want us to hand this one back to the governor? I'm sure she will understand."<br>"No, we have to clear his name."  
>Kono quickly responded, almost too quickly.<br>"Well then everybody, how do you propose we approach this?"  
>"I'll go undercover, I'll make contact with him and find out why he's involved in this".<br>Kono's words were once again a shock to all three men.  
>"Come on Kiddo." Danny said softly, " This is not going to be easy for you in the first place…"<br>His words were quickly interrupted.  
>"I will be fine, trust me," she retaliated.<br>"Does he know you're a cop?"  
>Steve knew not to question her on her motives. He knew she would never leave a friend to be arrested by somebody else. He remembered how she had brought in Ben Bass when he was suspected of murdering Ian. She wouldn't let this go.<br>"No, he left the islands before I joined the academy, and we don't run in the same circles anymore."  
>She realized how incriminating her words sounded.<br>Steve stared at her. Her eyes seemed misty.  
>"Okay." he said reluctantly, "but we aren't leaving you out there alone with these people, friends or not."<br>She nodded. 

Steve knew this wasn't a good idea. He could feel it in his gut, but knew all too well how things worked when friends were involved. He slowly walked to his office and motioned for Kono to join him.  
>She shut the door quietly behind herself. She had a meek look about her. Steve couldn't handle seeing her so conflicted. He gently put one hand on her shoulder and spoke softly to her.<br>"Are you sure you're ok with this?"  
>"Yeah, sure."<br>"I know he was or is your friend, but there could be a chance that he is guilty. Are you gonna be ok if that's the outcome?"  
>She wanted to say that it would not be the outcome, but she knew it would make her sounds completely biased.<br>"Yeah, I will".  
>The sadness was clearly visible in her eyes. She was such a beautiful, strong, yet somehow vulnerable woman. He wanted to grab her in his arms and tell her that all was going to be okay. He also wished that he had not gotten the case from the governor. He knew he was going to have to keep an eye out for her on this case. He just couldn't have her getting hurt on this.<br>"Ok, well then, you'll have to find out where he hangs out and re-connect with him."  
>Steve tried to sound as normal as possible, just like it was any other case, but Kono could hear the concern in his voice. She decided then that she needed to try her best not to let her emotions get in the way of this case, but she knew it would be one of the most difficult things she had ever done. She could not lose another friend in one year.<br>"Sure, I'll get on it."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hi everybody! Thanks for the encouraging reviews so far! And thanks to Zebraboymom for helping me out with some editing!

I hope you enjoy chapter 2! Hopefully it's a little better written!

Disclaimer: I own none of them (and that really makes me sad coz of what I read about season 2 today, another love interest being added to the show for Steve, sigh… )

CHAPTER 2

Steve was following up on a couple of leads when he heard Danny letting off whistles in the office. Getting up from his desk and peering through the blinds in his office he took a deep breath in. There she stood in her blue and green bikini and sarong , tanned, slim and blushing at Danny's remarks. Steve smiled at how beautiful she looked.

"How are we supposed to get any work done when she's around?" Danny jokingly shouted to Steve in his office. Steve shrugged his shoulders as if to say I don't know.

"I'm heading to the beach, I heard Brian likes to hang near my favorite surf spot, so I'll go and surf and look out for him."

Steve walked towards her and Danny. "Kono, you got your wire?" He was now standing directly in front of her.

"Yeah" she looked sad and disappointed.

"Kono" he said as he lightly put his hand on her shoulder., "be careful, ok?" Kono closed her eyes for a split second, trying to sum up some energy from Steve's touch. It felt like for that split second they were the only two people in the room. She so badly wanted for him to be able to ask the Governor to make this all go away, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to live with the feeling of having done favors for a friend.

She turned her eyes up to meet his and gave him a unconvincing smile.

"We'll be right behind you"

"Don't blow my cover" she joked as turned to leave the office. Steve and Danny stood watching her leave. The concern on both of her friends faces was clearly evident.

"Lets go look after our girl" Danny said as he slapped Steve on the back and followed Kono out the glass doors.

A while later she was on the beach and was loving the feel of the sand between her toes. She loved her job, but there was nowhere better than the beach. She let out a big sigh and started scanning the area, trying not to look too obvious and then decided to head out to the water with her surf board so that she could get a better look from the ocean. Her towel dropped to the ground and she removed her sarong. She took out her earpiece, not wanting to get it water soaked, and bent down to hide it in her bag. As she stood up, she could feel somebody standing behind her. A quick turn and there before her he stood, at least a head taller than her, hovering above her with his hawaiin print shirt and swimming trunks. His short black hair had a bit of a curl to it. His smile was infectious. Immediately she smiled the biggest smile back at him. "Brian!" She said with excitement to her tone. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey little Kono" he teased as she took a step back. "Hey" she punched him on the arm. They chatted for what seemed like forever about the old days and surfing. She carefully avoided questions relating to her current occupation. There were a million thoughts racing through her head as she studied him while he was speaking. _He just couldn't be involved_. He seemed exactly the same as when she last saw him. Charming, funny ,as handsome as ever and maybe even a bit more muscular. Her thoughts quickly snapped back to her three colleagues watching from the parking lot. _I have to keep focused!_

Steve watched Kono closely, trying not to look too obvious to Danny and Chin. He took in a deep uncomfortable breath as he watched Kono hug their suspect. How could he have let her do this? He felt like he was feeding her to the sharks.

"Jeez, maybe I should do some undercover work if that means I get to lounge around on the beach all day" Danny broken the silence that had been developing in the van.

"You don't even like the beach Danny"

"Yeah, but I could get used to taking in the scenery" he raised both eyebrows at the same time.

Steve gave a quick smile, then focused on Kono again. She didn't have her earpiece in. _Why did she take it out?_ He was dying to know what they were talking about.

"Danny, text Kono, tell her to meet me at her house in 20 minutes." Steve said, still not taking his eyes off of her.

Danny obliged whilst nudging Chin and once again raising his eyebrows at Steve.

Kono was drying her hair with her beach towel as she walked into her house a half hour later. "Hey boss" she said as she went to her fridge to get a bottle of water. Steve looked irritated "Don't ever take out your earpiece again while you are with this guy." His voice was cold.

Kono knew that he was concerned and couldn't bring herself to look Steve in the eyes, "Sorry"

"Kono, what's the real deal with this guy?"

She gave him a puzzled look, although she knew all too well what he meant. "Real deal?"

"Yeah, real deal! I saw the chemistry between the two of you on the beach, so tell me what really happened between the two of you?"

She sighed taking a few steps forward towards Steve. Steve felt his heart beating a little faster as she came closer.

"He was my first boyfriend. It was really pathetic actually," she smiled while she spoke " we dated for about 2 weeks and decided that we had better be friends coz we'd kill each other if we carried on dating. Jealous type!" she said while pointing at herself. "That all happened about a year before he suddenly left. I've had no contact with him since then."

Steve could see she was starting to get a serious look on her face and put his hand on her shoulder to try to get her to relax around him.

"And you still have feelings for him?" he pried

Kono felt a small spark of electricity as his hand touched her shoulder. She stared at him for 5 long seconds trying to figure out the motives of the question before she answered.

" My dad died that year, I was heavy into my surfing and all the wrong crowd. He was the one person besides Chin that was there for me. He helped me when I was in trouble and made sure that his friends all looked out for me when he wasn't around. He is ..was…like my best friend, so yes I have feelings for him, but not the type you're insinuating. "

Steve was intrigued by Kono's past, she hardly ever mentioned it, but it sounded so dark and lonely that he wanted to know what had happened to her that everybody needed to protect her from. A sympathetic look took over his face. Kono quickly realized that that was not the emotions she wanted out of Steve McGarrett. She turned and headed back to the fridge. "That's why I can't believe that he's involved."

Steve sighed and put his hands on his hips and started gesturing with his hands. "Just don't go getting yourself hurt over this Kono. Try not be too involved. It could break you. Are you sure you want to carry on?"

"Yeah, I need to do this. Besides, he's invited me to a club tonight and then to a private after party at his condo. I thought I could at least get a look around the place and try find anything suspicious". Her tone was that of asking a question.

Steve shivered at the idea of Kono going anywhere "private" with this guy. He let out a longwinded breath. "Fine, but I'm going to be in the club with you!" A small smirk was stretched across his lips! He didn't know who he was trying to make feel better, himself or her.

She gave a grateful smile back to her commander!

Danny and Steve were watching on as Chin setup the wire for Kono to wear. He placed it in the seam of her black strapless dress. Kono was in the shower.

"I don't have a good feeling here" said Danny

'Me neither" Steve agreed.

" Then lets pull the plug on this whole thing".

"I think she'll go with or without us on this one. She is determined to find out the truth about this guy".

"And it bugs the hell out of you" Danny smiled as he said the words.

"What? Of course it bugs me, doesn't it bug you?"

"Yeah, but not like it bugs YOU!" He smiled again.

"Danny"

"We can see it all over your face"

"We?"

"Chin, me…Kono"

"You don't know what you're talking about. As usual the words are coming out of your mouth before your brain is processing anything."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really!"

They heard the shower water stop running. Chin was still smiling at the conversation while he ran up the stairs to give Kono her dress through a slightly cracked door. He returned a couple of seconds later and walked up to Steve.

"She really cared for this guy, he was her everything for a really long time. I don't mind the guy because of how he looked out for her, but I don't want her wrapped up in anything dodgy with him." He paused to sigh " Kono is a strong woman and she would probably die before letting you guys see how rattled she is about this. I need you guys to help me protect her from this guy."

Steve and Danny nodded in agreement.

Just then, Kono started to walk down the stairs. Her long tanned legs seemed to not end. She was wearing her black strapless dress, dark makeup on her eyes that were shimmering and her hair was loose and had a curl to it and was falling in her face. She looked beautiful. Steve was speechless. He stared for what seemed like forever. Danny started whistling again. Kono looked up when she reached the bottom of the stairs and smiled, seemingly a little embarrassed.

"Are you sure this is still undercover work?" Danny grinned.

"Yes Danny, but a girls got to do what a girls got to do!" She smiled flirtatiously.

"Kono… uh… you look…uh…. Amazing" Steve could hardly get the words out.

"Careful there boss" Chin warned.

Danny walked up to Kono and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Careful out there babe!"

She smiled at him. "I will be"

Chin gave her a long hug "everything is going to be fine"

"Who you trying to convince cuz, me or you? "

Steve walked up to Kono and stared at the floor for a few seconds. He waited for Danny and Chin to leave the house. "I will be listening in the whole time. If you find its getting a little heated in there, say the word and we'll get you out. Don't try be superwoman today ok?"

She looked up into his eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes. She gave him a grin. "Superwoman had the weekend off, now it's time to be back on duty."

"Kono! " Steve warned.

"I'll be fine. I wish you guys would quit stressing. I'm a big girl now"

" I know, but that doesn't mean that we aren't allowed to worry about you. You're one hell ova girl and I for one would be shattered if anything happened to you"

"Really?" She almost started giggling.

"Yeah really" He lightly, kissed her on the forehead, letting the kiss linger for a few seconds. Kono closed her eyes. _I hope I'm doing the right thing. _

A while later they were in front of the club. Kono looked around before she entered the club with Brian, making sure she could see her 3 teammates.

The club was loud and Kono seemed to be enjoying herself inside with Brian. They reminisced over the good old days, danced a while then sat down for some drinks.

Brian seemed to get uncomfortable as he watched a tall figure walked towards him. He shifted a little in his seat.

"Brian! You didn't tell me you knew such beautiful women" the man's accent was thick. "Are you not going to introduce me?" The smirk on his face was cold.

Brian shifted again in his seat. "uh… This is Ian, he is a business associate. Ian, Kono; Kono, Ian"

Kono felt a cold shiver as the tall graying man lifted her hand to his mouth. "pleasure to meet you Ms Kono" he said in a cold voice.

She smiled in return. She could feel herself wanting to look for Steve. _Could he see her? Did he know how uncomfortable she felt at that moment.?_

Steve watched Kono on the surveillance camera's they had snuck into the building earlier. He could see her whole body tense as she met this new stranger. "I think I should go in there now" he surprised the others with his sudden comments.

"I, for one would not feel worse if you went inside"stated Chin.

"Steve, you don't think you're gonna stick out like a sore thumb?"Danny piped up.

"I'll blend Danny" He said with a half grin.

He quickly jumped out the van and ran to the entrance of the club. The bouncers were hesitant to let him in, but after a few persuasive words they let him in. He quickly found a spot at the corner of the bar where he had a good view of Kono. She looked so small in comparison to the tall men around her. She really was a beautiful woman. It looked like she was holding her own in the conversation. He sat staring at her for a few minutes and found himself grinning while thinking of her.

Kono found the conversation a little slow. She had this feeling that somebody was watching her. She turned her head to her right shoulder. She found a small smile come to her lips. _Thank God._ She felt relieved that she could see Steve.

"What, I'm not good looking enough for you?" Brian had caught her smiling at Steve.

"Huh? What?" she looked confused. He laughed at her. "Come on Kono, lets get some more drinks and maybe get out of here". He seemed to be trying to get her out of the club.

"No, let me". Ian had ordered drinks and handed Kono hers. It was her first actual alcoholic drink of the night. Kono talked for a while with Brian all the while keeping an eye on Ian. Suddenly she felt herself sway and caught herself on Brian's arm. "Whoa there gorgeous. I think you've had too much to drink" he said smiling at her. She started feeling a little light headed. _Had he slipped a drug into her drink?_ She looked at Brian with eyes that were pleading for him to tell her that her thoughts were wrong. "I'm going to take you upstairs to my condo so you can sit down for a bit, okay?".

Steve watched on, something wasn't right. He felt his heart pounding in his chest.

He watched as Kono had her arm around Brian and he was leading her upstairs. Just before he got to the stairs Steve jumped in front of him. "Hey fella, looks like the lady has had enough for the night" Steve looked serious.

"Relax guy, this is my friend, I'm going to let her go sleep it off" Brian said.

"hmm.. I don't think so" Steve got his badge out and flashed it at Brian. He so badly wanted to deck this guy! "She is going to go to the hospital, you are coming with me"

"Whats going on?" Brian looked confused. "You're making a big mistake!"

Danny and Chin had taken the hint and entered the club. They now stood behind Steve as he confronted Brian. He took Kono from his grip and carried her to the front door and out into the parking lot to the van. Danny and Chin took Brian to the station.

"Kono" he lightly touched her face with his hand " can you hear me?" Nothing. She seemed quite out of it. Steve lifted her up and put her in the front seat of the van and took her to the hospital. They immediately put her on a fluid drip. Steve was brushing her face lightly with his hand when she started to wake up.

"Where am I?" she was coming out of it and was dazed.

"In the hospital"

"Steve?"

"Yeah, I'm here"

"What happened?"

"You were drugged at the club"

"Brian?"

"He's with Danny at the station"

"He wouldn't have done this Steve, it had to be the other guy. He gave me my drink"

"We'll talk about this later, first I'm going to see if I can get you discharged and take you home for the night"

She nodded and gave a worried smile.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi All! I seem to be very inspired to write more of this story! Don't wanna loose it! Hope it lives up to expectations.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0 or their characters (sob, sob)

CHAPTER 3.

Steve had a word with the doctor and he was allowed to take Kono home. Which home would not be up to her. He was going to take her to his house for the night and he wasn't going to let her out of his sight. They walked arm in arm out of the hospital, he feared she would collapse at any moment. She knew he was being way too overprotective, but she kind of liked it.

When they pulled up to the McGarret House they quickly went inside.  
>"I'm fine", Kono snapped at Steve when he tried to help her up the porch stairs. He raised his arms in surrender and allowed her to walk into the house unaided.<p>

The couch was so comfortable. If her mind had not been so busy she would have easily fallen asleep. So many times she had imagined sitting alone with Steve in his house, but this was nothing like she had imagined. _How has it come to this?_ She was staring at a spot near the TV when Steve sat beside her and was examining the area she was so focused on.

"Did I not clean properly or something?" The words caused her to break from her dazed state and she returned the words with the most innocent and sweet smile he had ever seen. His heart was breaking for her.

"It wasn't him Steve. He wouldn't do that to me, he couldn't. You guys always talk about your gut feelings, and I'm telling you now, my gut says no."

"Don't confuse your gut and your heart Kono." The words were softly spoken, but caused so much pain. Tears started to swell in her eyes. Steve immediately regretted his choice of words. "Look, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you." He scooted closer to her and brought her head to his chest. Tears were streaming down her face and dropping onto his blue shirt. Never before had he seen her this vulnerable.

"I know… its just… I need you guys to trust me on this." She was wiping the tears away with back of her hands as she lifted her head and stared into Steve's eyes. "I know I'm the rookie, but I know Brian! I know him Steve!"

"Ok Kono, I trust your judgment." They were the most comforting words he could think of to say to her. Danny was so much better at saying all the right things. Her head fell on his chest again and he held her tightly not letting go for about 10 minutes.

"Lets get you to bed and we can talk about all this in the morning."

"Where is Brian now?" Her eyes were looking for answers and Steve knew she would not rest until she had them.

"He's in a holding cell at headquarters. Danny and Chin are going to question him in the morning."

"I want to be there."

"Kono…"

"Steve, please."

The sigh he let out would have blown her over if she had been standing. "Ok, now can I put you to bed?" He loved this stubborn attitude of hers. Her smile was meek, but filled with appreciation as she stood with him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him for a few moments. He closed his eyes and savored every second of the embrace. After a while he released his grip on her and took her hand and started to lead her up the stairs.

The spare room was right opposite his room. He chose this room to make sure he could get to her quickly if she needed him. Steve wondered how he would even be able to sleep knowing she was alone in the next room, but he had to give her some space.

"If you need anything at all, you come over to my room, ok?" His eyes were so sincere. She didn't want him to leave her alone, but she bargained with herself that it would be better that way.

"Ok, Boss. Goodnight"

"Goodnight"

Kono started to breathe heavy. Small droplets of sweat were forming on her head and chest. Her head rolled from side to side on her pillow. Small moans of anguish filled the air. Steve shot up to the sound of her having a nightmare. He rushed into the room and sat quietly on the bed next to her. Her body shot up into a sitting position as soon as the bed dipped with his weight. Her eyes were now wide open. Steve put both of his hands on her shoulders and gently started to pull her towards himself to get her to calm down. Her body calmed as she felt his touch and sank into his embrace.

"Its ok Kono. I'm here" She let out a small whimper and sighed to relieve the tension in her shaking body. "Come on. Lets go to my bed. You can stay there with me tonight, ok?"

The desperate look on her face was the only answer he needed. "Its ok, strictly to calm you down ok" She nodded furiously at which point he took hold of her hand and led her through the passage into his room. Silence. Never before had he seen Kono be this quiet. He held back the covers for her and she got into the bed. His body made hers bounce a little when he jumped in beside her. He gestured for her to lay her head on his shoulder which she did without hesitation. Her hands tightened around his waist and gripped his white t-shirt. He gently kissed her forehead and rubbed her upper arm until she was almost asleep. This is the way it was meant to be. This is where she belonged…

The next morning Kono got up early and had a shower. The warm water running over her body seemed to wash away her cares. Relaxation had finally come, but for how long? Her thoughts were quickly steered to the nights events. Brian, Creepy Ian, Steve, the hospital, but mostly Steve. Never before had she had a nightmare this bad, but at least she had not been alone. Waking up holding Steve and him holding her back bought a small smile to her face. Suddenly guilt took over. She had bigger things to worry about. The water was starting to scald her skin so she turned off the taps, got out the shower and wrapped a towel around herself suddenly realizing that she had no other clothing but the black dress she had been wearing and sleeping in. She tiptoed into Steve's room and was met with a grin on the face of the Navy SEAL.

"Hi"

"Hi"

"Um, I'm glad you're awake. Got anything for me to wear?" Avoiding any conversation regarding the previous night.

"Yeah" he leapt out of bed and motioned forward to his wardrobe and pulled out a blue SEAL t-shirt and some track pants. Before handing them to her he gave her a onceover with his eyes. A raised eyebrow was his only response from her. Grabbing the clothes she quickly ran back to the bathroom to dry off and change. A half grin made it's way to his face. The door to the bathroom opened and Kono stepped out. Steve was leaning on the doorframe and staring at her, he now seemed concerned. Again she avoided any conversation and pointed to her feet where he glanced down and noticed her toes sticking out of the extremely baggy pants. Turning around swiftly he grabbed her a pair of flip flops.

"Thanks" She paused briefly and gave him a effortless smile, "Think I'm gonna need to stop by my place on the way to work". He nodded. Their eyes seemed to have a conversation of their own. Both of their hearts were racing. Steve stepped towards her. Her whole body froze and she could feel a the pounding in her chest. With slow movements he gave her the sidestep and walked past her into the bathroom behind her making sure he brushed her body with his as he slipped into the bathroom. Her heart was still racing when he closed the door. A small smile broke on her face when she started her way downstairs.

When Steve arrived downstairs he heard Kono on the phone.

"Ok, just please wait for me before you do anything. Ok. Thanks cuz"

"Chin not started his interrogation yet?"

"Nope. They gonna wait until we get there. Best get moving then I suppose"

"Yeah, sure"

The trip to Kono's house and the station seemed to be over before they knew it. She had rushed into her house and changed into her jeans, black tank top, with an open green cardigan. They had made idle chit chatter, but nothing was mentioned about the case or the night they had just spent together. Kono had decided she would deal with it all once she had proven Brian innocent.

"Lets get started" Kono barely even greeted Danny and Chin when she walked into the offices, instead she seemed more focused on this case than the guys had seen her ever before.

Steve just shrugged his shoulders at the two men who were a little shocked at the bluntness of their rookie.

"Kono, wait" Chin grabbed her arm as she headed towards the interrogation room. "You stay on the outside for a while"

"I'm going in there Chin"

"I know want to, but not just yet, ok? I don't want you to go in there unprepared. Wait for us to finish with him. You need to step back a bit on this one and let us help you."

She let out a frustrated sigh but conceded to her cousin. Steve admired the way that Chin could get her to listen to him. The three men walked past Kono and went to the interrogation room, Danny gave her a quick hand to shoulder squeeze as he made his way to the room.

Brian seemed perfectly in tact, although he looked extremely tired. The three cops stood in front of him, all looking as if they were going to leap and attack him at any second. Before any of them could speak Brian spoke up.

"Where is Kono? Is she ok?"

They all seemed irritated by his concern for her. Steve started the interrogation.

"Who you working for?"

"None of your business! Now where is Kono?"

"You don't tell me what I wanna know then I'm gonna have to use other means, and you don't want that."

Danny grimaced at the thought of Steve's interrogation skills and shuddered at the what he thought the SEAL would do for a case this close to home.

"Look, like I told you last night, you're making a big mistake. Now let me go and tell me where Kono is. " He turned his head to face Chin, "Chin please, where is she? Is she ok?"

"Now why would we want to let you go?" Danny interrupted.

The man in front of them seemed to hang his head in defeat. "Because I'm a undercover special agent. I work for the FBI in Florida and I've been undercover for the past 2 years and you are on the verge of blowing it!" He looked at Steve and gave him a matter of fact look. Steve's blood levels seemed to rise. He quickly dialed the governor and asked if she could call in a favour to find out if it was true. While waiting for her call back he paced up and down the interrogation room, staring at Brian.

"Are you Kono's boyfriend?" Brian finally plucked up the courage to ask the question. "I saw you at the club watching her last night."

Danny and Chin watched on in horror. They were convinced that Steve would tear the man's throat out. Instead he calmly replied " No, I'm not, but I'm her friend and if you are lying and you hurt a hair on her head I'll…."just then the phone rang.

"Govenor. Yeah. And you couldn't have found this out earlier? Ok. Yeah" Steve looked disappointed. "Uncuff him"

Kono watched on as her 3 friends interrogated her old flame. The guilt was unbearable. When she heard Brian say he was from the FBI her heart did a leap of joy. She knew it wasn't him. She knew he was innocent in all of this. She did not even need the confirmation call from the Govenor, but when she heard Steve give the order to uncuff him she started to make her way to the interrogation room.

She opened the door and walked slowly into the room. Brian turned to her and made his way towards her, wrapping her in his arms. "Thank God you're ok".

Steve flinched when he saw Brian go to hug Kono. Danny grabbed Steve by the arm and motioned his head towards the door. Reluctantly he went with his partner leaving Kono and Brian to talk. After a short while Kono and Brian emerged from the interrogation room. She seemed happier to Steve and for that he was grateful. He knew he shouldn't be jealous of Brian, but he couldn't help feeling as if there were unresolved feeling between Brian and Kono. He knew there were unresolved feelings between himself and Kono, he just hoped he got a chance to tell her that he cared for her.

"Brian just filled me in," She seemed to have her focus back. " He's been working this case for the last two years. Turns out that this Ian guy is a big time supplier and he is about to close the case on this guy. He's been playing the part of one of his dealers to Hawaii. There are very few agents who know he is undercover."

They all spent the day in the office discussing the case. Eventually Danny gave the orders for everybody to go home for the day. Steve wondered where Kono would be going. He had found himself staring at how she interacted with Brian. Although he knew she was happy that her friend was not a crook, Steve found himself getting jealous of the way they were laughing together and he flinched every time Brian touched her.

"Can I take you out to dinner?" Brian got there before Steve.

"um…" she looked in Steve's direction but he looked at the floor as she caught his eyes, "yeah sure."

They started to walk towards the doors. Kono stopped and turned to Brian, " Can I meet you outside in a second?"

"Yeah, ok"

She turned and walked towards Steve who had headed for his office. "Steve, wait"

"Yeah?" he tried to make it look as if he was wasn't hurt by the fact that she was going to dinner with another man.

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"For believing me. I can't tell you how much it meant to me."

"Anytime" He smiled at her.

"P.S. Next time, you better ask me to dinner first!" He raised both eyebrows and a grin formed on his face.

She turned on her heels and left the building.

Kono and Brian were strolling slowly though the headquarters parking lot when suddenly they were surrounded by 3 vans. Kono didn't know how to react, but she started to fight the men that were now piling out of the vans and heading for her and Brian, but there were too many of them. She couldn't fight them all. She kicked one man down, but another grabbed her from behind. She watched helplessly as one of the men stun gunned Brian and dragged him into one of the vans. Gunfire erupted. Kono, still struggling in the big crooks arms, looked around for her teammates.

Steve, Danny and Chin were just exiting the building when they heard the screeching tires on the other side of the parking lot. They ran towards the noise, only to get there in time to see at least 6 men attacking Kono and Brian. Before they could get to their friend gunfire started to rain in their direction. The last thing the 3 men heard was Kono screaming. "Steve!" The men had taken her.


	4. Chapter 4

And now enter chapter 4! Kono has been kindnapped along with her ex bf! Steve couldn't get to her… the story continues! Thanks for all the reviews! Really is encouraging!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0!

CHAPTER 4

"Kono" the words sounded almost like a whisper. Steve, still holding his gun, put both hands on his head. Danny and Chin moved beside him, all of them staring in the direction the vehicles had fled in. "Dammit!" He turned quickly to make his way back to the office. Danny was on the phone to HPD, putting a alert out for the speeding vehicles. Chin stood paralyzed, still staring in the direction of the vehicles. "We're going to get her back." Steve stated in a matter of fact tone to Chin as he walked past him.

As soon as they reached the office Steve was on the phone to the governor asking for any means to get Kono back. After a lengthy conversation he turned to Danny. "Find out everything you can about this Ian guy and what Brian has been doing undercover. I want names, places of drop offs, hideouts." He was in full SEAL mode. "Chin, speak to Komekona. Find out what he knows about these guys". Both men nodded at Steve and headed in their separate directions.

Steve ran his hand across his face and sighed heavily. His eyes were now red with worry. His mind was racing with thoughts of Kono being shoved into the van. _Why did they take her? _He slammed his fist into the wall. _They had better not hurt a hair on her head!_ He sighed again looking down at his throbbing knuckles. If only he had asked her to join him for dinner, perhaps none of this would have happened. She had looked so happy to be freeing her friend from their suspect list. He stared out the window and watched the sun settling behind the buildings around headquarters. Quickly he snapped back and returned to finding any clue he could as to where they had taken her. He started by calling Brian's supervisor to find out what he could about his undercover operation.

XXXXXXXX

Kono had been knocked out once she had shoved into the van. She awoke with a pounding headache and feeling very disorientated. Memories of what had happened returned and she suddenly shot up to a sitting position, realising that her hands were tied behind her back. The back of the van was dark due to all the windows being tinted and she could vaguely see that they were driving up a steep hill towards a remote side of the island. It looked like they were heading to a farm of some sort. She knew that she needed to be able to tell Steve where she was when she could find a way to send him a message. _He must be going insane._ The driver's area had been sealed off from the back of the van and she couldn't see or hear her attackers. "Brian!" Suddenly she remembered that he had also been shoved in a van. Kono felt a sudden chill move over her whole body. Fear was beginning to take over her. Her eyes misted up, but she quickly shook her head and tried to concentrate on finding a way out of this mess. Her team mates had promised they would do everything they could to protect her, she knew she needed to keep believing that they were doing everything they could to get to her. Her thoughts were interrupted when the vehicle made an abrupt stop which flung Kono back onto the floor of the van. The door swung open and Kono squinted as a torch shone in her face.

"You! Get up!" the man's voice was harsh. He was a big man, she didn't think she'd be able to get a upper hand on him so she didn't struggle.

It was now nightfall and Kono was struggling to see the area around her. She tried hard not to make it look obvious, only moving her eyes to survey the area she was being dragged to. Up ahead of her was a tatty wooden building, probably a shed of some sorts, she decided. The men opened the small side door to the shed and pushed her forwards. She crashed onto the dirt floor and could hear the men laughing at her as she struggled with her hands behind her back.

"Kono" She quickly looked up and saw her friend, all bloodied and bruised. He had obviously been here a while before her and he had taken a hard beating.

"Brian! Are you ok?"

One of the men kicked her side, "Shut up!" She felt like she had gotten the wind knocked out of her. They pushed her into the corner that Brian was sitting in. She sent a glare in the direction of one of the men that had been manhandling her. Once they had started to go about other business she turned to Brian. His face was bruised and it looked like he had taken a couple of hard hits to his chest. Probably the result of his captors kicking him.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. What happened? Who are these people? " She was careful to whisper.

"They are Ian's goons. Kono… I'm so sorry! I never wanted to get you in the middle of all this."

"Hey, I'm a big girl now! Not the same old little girl you used to know. My friends will get us out of here soon! We just gotta hang on a bit longer." She tried to reassure him with a smile. "We need to find a way to get a message to Steve and the guys. Where are all the other goons?"

"I don't know. Only one guy brought me in here and then those two that had you joined. I think there were about six or seven of them, but I can't be sure." He stopped talking and stared into her eyes "You're amazing, you know that?" Kono didn't have time to reply to the words.

"Hey! I thought I told you two to shut up!" The goon was about to give Kono another kick when a voice behind him made him stop in his tracks.

"That won't be necessary."

Kono and Brian glared at Ian as he moved slowly towards them. He motioned for his subordinates to bring some chairs to the middle of the room. One of the men grabbed Kono roughly and the other grabbed Brian with the same amount of force. They forced them to sit on the chairs. Ian walked towards Kono and brushed his hand against her face. She shuddered at his touch and turned her head, trying to pull it away from his reach. "We meet again Ms Kono." He turned from her and kicked Brian's chair, making him collapse to the ground. "You! You were supposed to be trustworthy, but now I find out you're a cop, along with your pretty little friend here!" He kicked Brian's side, leaving him groaning in pain.

"Hey, leave him alone!" The tall blonde man turned at the sound of Kono's voice and slapped her through the face.

"Speak only when you are spoken to!" He turned and faced Brian again. " I need to know what you know and what evidence you have against me. If I don't get it I'm gonna have to find a way to make you talk." He looked at Kono when he spoke and it made her shudder. " And I've a feeling our little feisty friend here will be a good enough reason for you to start blabbing."

XXXXXXXXXX

Steve paced up and down the office with determination while he waited for Chin to return. All the thoughts in his mind were doing a number on him. He stopped pacing and fell back into his office chair. His mind was now preoccupied with thoughts of Kono. How he would catch her smiling to herself in her office sometimes, he hadn't dared ask her the reason, it was just nice to see her smile. She had such passion for her friends and family. He longed to see that fire in her eyes. How she was always one step ahead of him in terms of gathering evidence and checking up on leads. _If she were here, she would have found a place that we could look for her already!_ His eyes were strained. He had been following up on leads for the past 2 hours and he had nothing to show for it! It was nearly 9pm and still not even a clue as to where she could be! He picked up a photo of the team which was in a frame on his bookcase. _She loved being with 'her boys'! She would be fine! She was good at handling tough situations, she had to be!_

"Boss!" Chin almost seemed out of breath when he barged into Steve's office. With one swift turn Steve was facing his team mate, eager to hear some good news. "Komekona thinks he might know somebody who would be able to find out where they are keeping her. Its gonna take a couple of hours though."

"We don't have hours. God knows what they are doing with her right now! The way I see it is that they know Brian is undercover and they are going to use Kono as leverage to get information out of him."

"It's the only help he could give me." Chin looked downwards, feeling a little guilty that he could not do more to help his cousin.

"ok, it's a start. We've just gotta wait for Danny and maybe he has something we can work on so long." Steve felt bad for snapping at Chin. He realised that he needed to remember that he wasn't the only one who cared about her.

Danny burst in through the glass doors and seemed to out of breath from the run up the stairs. "They found one of the vans! HPD found one of the vans! They are holding a suspect down at the precinct. Let's go ladies!" He motioned for them to follow him out the building.

Chin and Steve looked at each other as if new hope had been given to the case. They quickly followed Danny out of the building.

XXXXXXXXX

A small amount of blood trickled down Kono's face, originating from the corner of her mouth. She turned her head and wiped it on her shoulder. As she turned her head she caught a glimpse of a cellphone sticking out of one of the goons back pocket. If she could get hold of it she'd be able to call Chin or Danny…or Steve. Somebody would be able to come and help them. She wished she could turn back the hands of time and for it to be the night before. She felt so safe lying in Steve's arms. She inhaled which caused a sharp pain in her side from the blow she had received earlier. Her thoughts were interrupted by Ian's voice.

"So, what am I going to do with you two?"

"How about let us go?" Kono knew that she was in danger of being slapped again, but she didn't care. Brian was hurt badly and she wanted to absorb as much of the attention away from him as possible.

"You are quite a feisty little thing aren't you? I might have some use for you a little later." He ran his fingers over her arms and brought his face centimetres away from hers. She glared back at him with hatred in her eyes and proceeded to spit in his face. He slapped her again, a little harder this time. She felt the sting and her face started to throb. Brian made a movement while still lying on the floor. Kono could see that he wanted to get up and protect her, but he was too weak and struggled with his hands tied behind his back. She watched the tall man walk away towards his goons. For the first time in a long time Kono started to feel fear, real raw fear. This man was a monster. From what she had heard from Brian earlier in the day he had done some pretty awful things to innocent people who stood in his way. And if she assumed right, he was a fan of slow and painful torture. She bit her lip and kept looking around to surveil the area and her options of getting out of the restraints she was in. There was a sharp edge on the steel chair and she started to rub the duct tape against it in the hopes of it wearing through. She closed her eyes and said a prayer that her team mates would reach her soon! A single tear slid down her cheek.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everybody! I hope this next chapter feeds your need for more. I'm working on chapter 6 already so hopefully I can finish it by tonight and upload again! Thanks again for all the positive feedback! Let us continue…

Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0 or its characters!

Chapter 5

Brian had been put back onto the chair beside Kono. It seemed painful for him to sit. He was groaning in pain.

"Hey, you still hanging in there?"

Brian smiled at her concern for him. "If I could only get you to notice me like this all the time, but no.. I have to go to extreme measures to get some attention from you!" His smile was genuine, but filled with winces at the pain he was in.

"I'm hard to impress, what can I say?" It was a good sign that he could joke around.

"Kono, I really am sorry. I was supposed to have protected you." Suddenly the conversation had turned serious again.

"And as I said before, I'm a big girl now. Relax, we are going to be sipping cocktails on the beach in no time. I'm sure I can muster up a days leave out of all of this." She was desperately trying to cheer him up.

"If we don't get out of this… "

"Brian…"

"Let me finish. If we don't get out of this, I just want you to know that I regretted breaking up with you all those years ago. You were my best friend and I just wanted to make sure we kept that and I didn't want to risk our friendship. I loved…love you Kono. I just wish I could have reconnected with you under different circumstances."

She smiled at him, accepting his words.

"I'm glad you think you broke up with me, I'll have you know it was me who broke up with you. I also think that bump on your head was a little hard." She smiled knowing that he understood her need to believe everything was going to be ok. "I'll always care for you Brian, but as a friend, a very good friend! Who knows? When we get out of this mess maybe we can go for that dinner." She gave him an optimistic smile but needed the conversation to change course. She didn't want to tell him that she had feelings for somebody else, and not just anybody else, her boss. She could just imagine how he would tease her.

Kono started to observe the men around them. The duct tape was almost worn through. She needed to figure out which one to take out first. The cellphone was her main objective. She decided she would wait until Ian had left. It would be easier to take the three goons than all four of them.

It took a while, but finally Ian and one of his men left the building. She didn't know how long they would be gone so she knew she had to act quickly. At least there were only two of them now. One of the men was walking towards her. She turned to Brian.

"We will pick up our conversation a little later, ok? I'm gonna be busy for the next couple of minutes."

He gave a worried look. "Kono.."

She sent him the sweetest smile and winked…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The three men walked into the interrogation room with determination on their faces. The perp was a man of about thirty years, bald and wearing all black.

"Where did they take her?" Nobody else had a chance to speak before Steve lashed out at the guy.

He only returned his question with a sickening smile, which set the Navy SEAL off. He grabbed the perp by the neck and threw him against one of the walls of the small room. Chin and Danny watched on, not really worried about what would happen to the man if he didn't answer the questions.

"Tell me where they took her or I'll snap your neck." Danny raised a eyebrow at the words.

"Steve, he's no good to us dead."

"You're right, but he's also no good to us quiet and therefore may as well be dead."

Danny seemed to weigh the options and agree. Steve threw the man back in the chair. "Now my friends are not going to stop me from hurting you. The governor has given me full leeway on this, so if I were you I'd start talking and do it fast." His stare could have broken any man. The perp seemed to be feeling the sting of his words. A glimmer of fear expressed itself in his face and he shifted in his seat.

"They are going to kill me if I tell you anything."

"I'd be more worried about him and take your chances with the others if I were you." Danny pointed to Steve as he spoke to the villain.

Chin stood silently to one side while this conversation was going on. Almost too silently. It seemed as if he would rush in and finish the job for Steve if the man didn't start talking. Steve took this into consideration. "You see this man here " he pointed to Chin whose eyes still gave a deathly look, "you kidnapped his cousin, a cousin who we all happen to care a lot for. If I don't kill you, he will and I won't stop him. So best starting using that mouth of yours." The man swallowed hard realising the deathly looks he was getting from all three men were probably hazardous to his health.

"They took her to a rendezvous point and then they would have decided which hideout to take her to. I .. I don't know which one, I promise. I never met up with them at the rendezvous point so I don't know where they took her."

"What are the three hideout locations?"

"um, there's the old Mill, um.. the abandoned airstrip and a place in the jungle. We only get the co-ordinates when we get to the rendezvous point." He seemed to be telling the truth.

"But those are on 3 different sides of the island' Danny interjected.

"That's all I know. I promise."

Steve shot up from having his hands on the table. "Get HPD to send units to each of the locations. We'll go to the closest one and work our way to the others."

Danny walked out the interrogation room to give the orders to HPD. Chin moved towards the perp they had been interviewing. "If they have hurt her in anyway, nobody will be able to keep you safe from me, got that?" He and Steve left the room and headed to the car, followed by Danny.

There was silence in the vehicle, all three men wondering about where they would find Kono. "We are gonna get her. Its only a matter of time now" Danny broke the silence.

"I just hope she's at the airfield. It's the closest. About five minutes away." Chin stated

"If not I'll get us a helicopter and we can go to the other places in no time. She'll be fine. She knows how to handle herself." Steve was trying to ease everybody in the car.

Again silence fell in the vehicle, only to be interrupted by Steve's cellphone ringing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The man slowly walked towards Kono and looked as if he was going to slap her again in reprimand for talking to Brian. As his hand moved towards her face she pulled her arms free and grabbed it, throwing the man to the ground with his arm behind his back. She took the gun he had shoved into his belt and hit the man over the head, knocking him unconscious. The second man turned at the commotion and pulled his gun out, but before he could get the shot off, Kono fired her gun and killed the man. She was sure that the gunfire would have been heard by somebody and soon they would no longer be alone. She wasted no time and pulled the cellphone out of the pocket of the man laying on the ground infront of her. Her hands were shaking as she dialled the numbers. _Please be right, please pick up_! She held the phone to her ear using her shoulder and untied Brian while waiting for the man on the other end of the phone to speak.

"McGarret." The words made her heart beat double time. She glanced at the ceiling as if she were saying a thank you to whoever made it possible.

"Steve!"

"Kono, is that you? Are you ok? Where are you?" He gestured to Chin to trace the call.

"Yes, yes and I have no idea." She was so relieved to hear his voice. " We are in a barn or shed of some sorts in a area surrounded by trees, that's all I know. I can't speak for long. I think I might have stirred up something over here."

"It must be the old Mill. We're on our way Kono. Hang on, We'll be there soon." With one swift pull on the steering wheel Steve turned the car around and began speeding down the highway towards the Old Mill. "ETA is about ten minutes Kono. Can you hold on the long?"

"Longest ten minutes of my life, but yeah, I think so." The sound of her heavy breathing brought concerned looks to the faces of the three men in the car. She and Brian had moved behind a table that she had turned over when she noticed two more men coming through the door. " Gotta go boss, get here soon, okay!"

"Kono, keep the phone going!" He heard the commotion in the background as if Kono had dropped the phone, but not cancelled the call. Chin dialled HPD and SWAT to tell them where to send their vehicles and confirmed that the trace on the call had indeed come from the old mill. By that time Steve was driving at a speed that Danny felt very uncomfortable at.

"We need to get to her in one piece" He warned Steve while pushing his body back in his chair. Steve only stared forward, weaving his way between oncoming cars.

"We can't let her get hurt, Danny!"

The only sound in the car was that of the cellphone. They could hear gunfire and shouting.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Kono and Brian were tucked behind the table that was receiving a heavy amount of bullets.

"We've gotta move or we'll get creamed behind here" Brian tugged Kono's arm as she was firing the gun she had obtained from one of the villains.

"Where to?" She hardly looked at him. Suddenly it got a bit quieter. "I'm out!" She turned to Brian signalling that she had run out of bullets.

"You have nowhere to go now !" Ian's voice echoed in the building. "If you come out now, I won't kill you"

Kono was still breathing heavily and bit down on her bottom lip. She looked at Brian and he took her hand in his. "suppose its our only option." The stare lasted a few seconds before he lightly kissed her on the cheek and they began to rise from behind the table.

"Kono, don't do it!" If only she could hear Steve shouting at the cellphone that was still blaring in the speeding car. "Stay down Kono!"

"Cousin, Cousin!" Chin started to yell at the phone to try and get her attention.

A single gunshot was the only noise that came through the phone…


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hi guys! Another chapter done and dusted. It might take me a day or two from here. A little stuck with the story, but I'll figure it out and be back soon! Hope you enjoy! Thanks for all the alerts etc!

Disclaimer: I own none of them! :(

CHAPTER 6

Kono seemed to be frozen in the moment. She was sure her life was meant to have ended. She saw Ian point and fire his weapon at her and she saw Brian Step infront of her. _Oh my God, Brian._ She looked down and tears started forming in her eyes. There he lay in a pool of his own blood, gasping for air. Ian had shot him in the chest. She knelt beside him, trying to hold back the tears to no avail. In the background was the faint sound of sirens.

"Kono..I…" his gargled attempts at speech made the tears in Kono's eyes flow freely.

"Brian," She now seemed to be gasping for oxygen herself. "Don't speak. Save your energy. The paramedics will be here in a sec. I can hear them. " She didn't seem to care that Ian was still in the room and that at the sound of the sirens the tall man decided to make a run for it. It was as if nothing else existed.

"I…Protec…you.." he was starting to cough and the blood was spewing out of his mouth.

"Yes, yes you did. You saved my life, but you've always been my hero. You know that!" she smiled at him through her tears. Making Brian feel comfortable was the most important thing. The sirens were so close now and she could hear a helicopter.

He started to cough profusely. "no, no, no, no, no, no.. Brian…" Her words were soft, as she pleaded for him not to die. She felt the last bit of oxygen leave his body and rested her head on his forehead. After a few moments she took his head in her hands and kissed his forehead. She stood up in the now empty building, the blood on her black tank top hardly visible. She heard the sirens outside the building and gunfire had erupted.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Kono! Kono!" Nothing.

They were almost there. Just a minute or two longer. All three men were silent in the car. What they had heard seemed to make Steve drive with even more determination.

They pulled up to the barn at the same time as HPD and SWAT. Gunfire erupted from a couple of men hiding behind a parked van. HPD as well as Danny, Chin Steve returned fire on the gunmen. One of the bullets hit the gas tank of the van and it blew up in a massive explosion. With that explosion all gunfire seemed to cease. The three men were scanning the area, ready to run in any direction to find Kono. Steve seemed lost in SEAL mode. His determination only matched by Chin. They all stopped in their tracks and could not believe what they saw.

Kono had walked out of the barn, still wearing her black tank and jeans, which seemed to be brown from dirt. Her hair was messy and full of dust. Dirt covered her face and she seemed to be weak and was walking with a limp. Through the smoke from the explosion the three men saw her slowly walking towards them, her hands wiping her face at every chance she got. She could barely see the faces of the three men running towards her through her tears. She collapsed to her hands and knees before they had a chance to reach her, her tears soaking the ground in front of her.

Steve reached Kono first. He slid onto his knees to be able to hold her close, grateful that she was alive. She sobbed into his shirt, not stopping as he pulled her closer. Danny and Chin reached the two on the ground and were desperately asking if she was hurt. Kono could not hear them through the sirens and her own cries.

As Steve lifted his hand off of Kono's waist he found his hand was covered in blood.

"Kono!" He was horrified. "Are you hit?"

She shook her head. "Brian" the one word gave the men understanding of her sobbing. Tears once again erupted from her eyes and the sobbing seemed painful. Steve held her tighter.

Danny exhaled, not realizing that he had been carrying the breath on his run to see Kono. He rested his hands on his knees and bowed his head. Chin was feeling the same relief but was not going to interrupt Kono's embrace with Steve. He sighed and ran his hand over his head.

In one swift swoop Steve picked Kono up into his arms, her face still buried in his neck and he carried her through the smoke to the waiting ambulance. He sat in the back of the ambulance with her still in his arms and waited for the sobbing to subside. He could feel her hair against his face and took in a deep breath. He was so grateful that she was alive and relatively unharmed. He thought about what he would have done if they had not arrived when they did. He thought about the gunshot and how it made him feel when he didn't hear her voice after it. He held her a little closer making sure he could feel her heart beating. Kono acknowledged his hug with a tighter grip. She didn't want to let go, but Steve eventually loosened his grip on her body to allow the medics to take a look at her. She sat there silently, tears still streaming down her face, but the sobbing had subsided. She seemed to be caught in a stare at nothing specific, but obviously in deep thought.

"Kono, I'm so sorry about Brian." The SEAL's words were gentle, careful not to invoke another sobbing episode. "I'm sorry we never got here sooner."

She could not find the energy to speak so she nodded. The way she looked at him made him feel so heartbroken for her. She had lost a friend, a good friend. He didn't want to press her for details just yet. He would give her time to open up to him.

Danny walked up to the ambulance. "Hey Kiddo" he smiled at Kono who looked up to acknowledge him, " Steve, can I speak to you for a sec." Steve did not want to leave Kono alone. Chin walked behind him and put his hand on Steve's shoulder.

"I'll sit with her for bit." Chin walked to his cousin and sat beside her. She rested her head on his shoulder and they sat quietly, not saying a word.

Steve nodded in return and walked a couple of steps away from the ambulance to talk to Danny.

"Steve, Ian's gone. Nowhere on the premises. HPD says he fled into the jungle and it looks like he had a chopper out there somewhere."

Steve wanted to get angry. He wanted to punch something, but he knew that would only make Kono even more upset. "Danny, we need to find him. Kono is never going to be safe with him out there."

"I know. HPD is looking into it now. Chin and I will go to the office and see what we can figure out. You take Kono to your place and keep her safe there."

"I think it'd be better if I went to the office."

"And I think it would be better for Kono if you didn't. If there was any time you decided to listen to me, let it be now."

Danny was convincing enough for Steve to nod in agreement. "Fine, but I want to know anything you find out."

Steve turned and walked towards the ambulance where Chin and Kono were sitting, still quietly. "Come on Kono, I'm taking you home." She stood up and walked with Steve to the car, turning before she got it. "Thanks guys."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The drive to the McGarret house had been quiet. Every now and then Kono would make out as if she were staring out the window, but Steve had seen the tears running down her cheeks. He wished there was more he could do to make the pain go away.

When they entered the house Steve immediately ran upstairs and fetched her some clothes and started running the shower for her. She made her way upstairs headed for the shower. This shower she had been in a couple of days ago. How the feeling was so different now. She wanted to curl up into a ball and never get up, instead she rested both hands against the shower walls and sobbed. Steve could here the faint sobs coming from the bathroom and had to do everything in his power not to go in and hold her again. Kono stared at herself in the mirror for a while, staring at her wounds. Her face was a light purple, the same with her ribs. She quickly wrapped a towel around herself. _How was her life more important than his? How could he think that_? She inhaled deeply, dried herself off and got dressed. Steve made a space for her on the couch and helped her to sit down. Kono sat with tears in her eyes. She looked as though she was still in shock.

"You want something to drink?" Steve asked awkwardly, not knowing how to break the ice.

"Yeah, water.. please."

"Coming up. Can I fix you something to eat? Its been at least 2 days since you ate, right?"

"um, right, no thanks. Not hungry."

"Kono," he sat beside her on the couch and handed her the bottle of water. She looked up at him as though she were waiting for him to use some profound words to make the pain go away. He was going to tell her that it would all be alright, but avoided the words when he saw the searching in her eyes. " I think you should try and get some sleep." He patted his chest to signify that she should lie on him. She did so willingly, even though she knew it would take a while for her to fall asleep. As they were sitting on the couch Steve could feel the tears soaking through his shirt and onto his chest. He held her tightly until he could feel that her body had relaxed and she had fallen asleep. He thought he'd not disturb her sleep and left her on the couch and he would sleep in the chair beside her. He laid her head onto the couch and propped it up with pillows. Kneeling down, he kissed her forehead and stroked her cheek, again saying a little prayer of thanks that she was okay. He would have loved to lie there with her all day, but he needed to find out what Danny and Chin had come up with. He knew he needed to catch Ian before he came for Kono again.

A couple of hours had past and Steve had fallen asleep on the single chair beside the couch when he heard a familiar sound. Kono was tossing and turning on the couch, probably having a nightmare again. He quickly made his way there and scooped her up in his arms. She settled at his touch, but did not wake up. He gently lifted her off the couch and carried her upstairs to his bedroom. He laid her on the covers and quickly bolted to his spare room to grab another blanket. He lay next to her and covered them both with the extra covering. He held her tight so that she would know that she was not alone. They slept like this for the whole night.

When morning came Steve woke up feeling a little chilly. He opened his eyes at the realization that Kono was not in his grasp anymore. He turned to search the bed for her and there she was, sitting up with her knees under her chin and her arms wrapped around her legs. He was about to pull her back to his side when she finally spoke.

"He stood in front of me you know. It should have been me that was dead." She didn't even look at Steve when she spoke.

"Kono, he protected you, because he loved you. I don't know anybody that knows you that wouldn't have done the same thing for you."

"I know… that he loved me. He told me."

"oh…" Steve didn't say anything because he didn't want to seem insensitive, but he really wanted to know if she had said she loved him back.

"I told him to relax, it'll all be ok." She rested her forehead on her knees and Steve could see the tears falling down her cheeks.

"Hey, Kono," he repositioned himself and lifted her chin so that her eyes met his " He knew you cared about him. Look at the way you fought to prove him innocent. You proved it, okay?"

She tried to smile, but her eyes gave her pain away.

"Look, we are going to catch Ian and then we are going to make him pay for what he did to you and to Brian."

The name of the villain sent shivers down her spine. She instantly remembered the way he had touched her arm suggestively. Steve noticed her unrest and pulled her close and held her until he felt her body relax.

"Come on, lets get you dressed and then we'll figure out what to do with our day, okay?

"I'm going to the office." She still had her head against his chest. "I need to help put this creep away."

Steve knew not to argue with her. She was determined and so much like him. If he were in the same situation he would do the same thing. "Ok.. then we'd better stop by your place for some clothes…again." She smiled at his attempt of humor.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi all. So this is my second last chapter for this story. Will post the last chapter sometime today. Hope you enjoy! Thanks again for all the adds and things!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything :)**

When they arrived at the office they were met with an awkward silence from Danny and Chin. They seemed to be staring at her as if she were some alien life force.

"I'm ok." She tried to ease their minds, knowing that she wasn't really going to get away with it.

Danny gave Steve a dirty look to signify that he was not happy that he had brought Kono to the palace. A shrug of the shoulders was his only answer.

"What have you found out?" Kono avoided all eye contact with her three team mates, instead staring at the table in front of her.

Chin sighed, but offered her the information, "Looks like we might be closing in on something. We've found out through various sources that Ian has two properties in Hawaii that are not listed in his own name. This one here.." he pointed to a house on the giant screen, "being the most probable hiding spot. We also found out that he has definitely not left the island… yet."

She nodded in slow motion. "Then what are we waiting for?" She finally looked up into their faces, showing her impatience.

"Babe, are you sure you're up for this? We can end this for you. You don't have to be there."

She smiled at Danny's gesture. "And let you have all the fun? I don't think so." The weak attempt at humour brought a small smile to Danny's face.

"Right, so when do we go in?" Steve was staring at Kono, observing her behaviour, when he said the words.

"Five pm. SWAT is going to meet us there."

"Alright then, that gives us 7 hours to prepare. Lets make sure we've got a rock solid case against this guy."

They all dispersed to their relevant offices. When Steve reached his office he turned to the glass office walls to watch as Kono was fidgeting in her own office. He could see she was trying to find something to do to keep her mind busy. He knew that he needed to let her be for a little without him around. _How alike they were!_ He had decided in his own mind that she would stay with him at his house for a long while, until she was ready to be on her own. He just had to get her to agree.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Four pm had come and gone. Kono was busy getting her gear together in the change rooms when Steve popped his head in through the door. "Safe?"

She smiled, "Safe."

She was busy putting on her bullet proof vest and Steve admired the way she was so determined.

"You want to drive with me?"

"Nah, I'll go with Chin. He looks like he's missed me." Again a smile flooded her face. "Plus, I think Danny will go insane if he doesn't get to rant at you for a whole day. I bet he's got tones of jokes up his sleeve." She was trying to make the whole day sound like any other day.

"Ok." He didn't want to agree, but he didn't want her to see his need for her to be in his sight at all times. "But just so that you know, I'll take that pretty smile over Danny's rants any day!"

There was a different look to her face once the words had come out. She smiled, but quickly it had turned to a look of guilt. She stared at the floor for a while, then swallowed hard and looked in the mirror with an obviously fake smile. What was going on inside her head? If only Steve could figure it out.

"Well… we are just about ready to head out now." He took two steps closer to her. "Kono…" He felt as if he were about to loose her…again. " Be careful out there." He ran his hands along her bare arms. This sent quivers through her whole body.

She smiled internally at the concern on his face and in his words. "I will be."

_As long as you're there. _The words she had wanted to say so badly, but her guilt got the better of her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Driving with Chin was such a familiar feeling. Kono sat back in her seat and rested her head on the headrest of the passenger seat. She sighed at what was coming. She knew it would be one of the most important busts of her life.

"You ok, cuz?"

"I will be." Her eyes were still closed.

"Steve taking care of you?"

Her eyes shot open at her cousins words. She stared at him, confused at what he was implying.

"Yeah" she answered wearily.

"Good." A silence settled in the moving vehicle, only to be interrupted by Kono after a short while. She stared at her hands.

"Brian told me he loved me, you know." A small grunt of disgust from herself followed, "all I said was that everything will be ok. And look what happened." She sighed a burdened sigh.

"Did you love him?"

"No" Her voice was soft. "Not him"

"Do you love somebody else?"

She looked surprised at his invasiveness. "I don't know." She seemed to weak to play the avoidance game. "Should I have said yes that I loved him?"

Chin paused before any words came out of his mouth. It seemed he was calculating what his next words would be. "Cuz. I don't think you should tell people what they want to hear just because of life threatening situations." He paused again "Brian knew you were his friend, one that cared for him deeply. But that intimate part of your relationship ended long ago. Maybe he needed to get it off his chest, maybe he needed you to know, but he would never have been happy with the fact that you told him you loved him, just because he wanted to hear it. I do think however that if you DO love somebody, you should tell them." He gave his cousin an all knowing look.

"yeah…maybe" She seemed to be struggling with an internal conflict. She sighed as she saw the building in front of her. "Looks like we better get our game faces on."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sound of gunfire filled the air. Steve watched Kono closely. She, Chin, Danny and Steve were crouch behind a low wall in the house. Ian had obviously gotten a tip off that they were coming minutes before they arrived. The house was filled with men shooting at the officers. In the distance they could hear a helicopter getting closer to the house. Steve lifted his head above the wall and shot twice, which caused the man that was firing at them to fall to the ground. All four of the team mates slowly edged towards the patio of the building, scanning the area as they moved. Danny and Chin went to the left hand sliding door. Steve and Kono to the right. A shot was fired at them. Danny fell to one knee and returned fire on the assailant. "That'll hurt in the morning." He smiled at his victory over the villain.

Steve and Kono moved down the stairs of the patio, looking either way as they went. There he was. Ian was hiding behind the pool house with at least 2 other men. They were waiting for the helicopter to escort them out of the firey blaze which was his mansion. Kono breathed heavy when she saw him. Her face expressed her hatred for him and Steve had to put his arm infront of her to stop her from racing towards him firing her weapon. "Hold on Kono. We need to get closer." Her impatience was visible. "You said you were going to be okay for this mission. I trust you, but you've got to trust me."

She surrendered to her boss. "Okay, but I'm taking him down."

He smiled at her. "Yes boss!"

Steve did a fantastic run, jump and roll and fired his weapon at the same time, taking out one of the men that were with Ian. He glanced at Kono and signalled that she should follow him, all the while providing cover for her. She ran towards Steve and slid next to him behind some rockery by the poolside.

"That helicopter is getting awful close." She was worried that Ian would get away again.

"Don't worry. We'll get him before he gets on it." He winked at Kono as he tried to reassure her. She was so happy that he was there with her.

Kono and Steve turned at the same time and fired their weapons in the direction of the last assailant, taking him down instantly. They moved from behind the rockery and stalked towards the pool house. Ian made a dash for it.

"Five-O, Freeze!" Steve shouted as loud as he could over the noise of a now hovering helicopter.

The man ignored his commands and instead turned and fired his weapon three times at Kono and Steve. Steve fired a bullet and shot him in the leg. Ian fell to the ground in agony. Steve ran quickly to the man and took his gun away from him and ordered the helicopter pilot to turn the engines off. Kono walked slowly to where Ian was lying on the floor. She lifted her hand gun and aimed at him.

"Do it Princess, kill me. You know you want to." The man's words were torture as he smiled up at her.

"Kono, No! "Steve ran to her side. "Put it away Kono, he's not getting away now. We've got him".

She seemed to stare at the man on the ground for a little while longer. "You killed my friend." The tears were starting to swell in her eyes. Steve knew he had to defuse her before things got out of control.

"Kono," he gently laid his hand ontop of her hand that was holding the gun. "Its not worth it, Kono. Trust me."

She slowly looked up into those blue eyes. She had wanted Ian to pay for everything he had done, but she knew Steve was right. She lowered her weapon and turned into Steve's protective embrace and sighed as his arms wrapped around her shoulders. Danny and Chin started running towards them after having cleared the whole house. As they ran they noticed Ian reaching for his ankle.

"Steve, Kono! Watch out!"

The man pulled out a small handgun which he had strapped to his side. He aimed at Steve, but before he could pull the trigger Kono had raised her weapon again and fired a bullet into his chest. Steve turned in surprise. He glanced at Ian and then again at Kono.

"Thanks."

Her response had no emotion to it, as she stared the now dead man on the ground. "Anytime." She turned and headed back to the house. All three men stood and watched as she walked away.

XXXXX

In the change room Kono had just finished freshening up. She looked in the mirror and smiled. It was over. Maybe not the ending she expected, but at least it was over. She hadn't intended on killing Ian, but she would not let him hurt another person she cared for. She hung up her bullet proof vest, closed her locker and headed into the office. Her three teammates were sitting around a desk and talking about what they were going to do on their next four days off.

"Grace and me are going to go to the beach." Chin and Steve laughed as Danny said the words. "What? What?"

Kono smiled as she watched the three men she cared about most laughing. She was one lucky woman! She smiled at her thoughts and walked towards them.

"Hey, help me out here kiddo!" Danny looked like he was in need of backup against Steve and Chin.

"I'll have you guys know that Danny is actually getting good at surfing," she had a sly smirk on her face as the next words were spoken, "He could probably teach you two a thing or two."

All three men kept silent for a few moments and then burst out laughing again. Kono joined in with the laughter. It felt so good to laugh, but she still had a small feeling of guilt that came over her. Her face straightened, but she tried not to make it too obvious to the guys.

"I'm gonna be heading home now. I'll see you guys on Monday?"

Steve stiffened at her decision to go home. She was meant to be going with him, although he hadn't really had a chance to discuss it with her yet.

"I'll take you" he got up to grab his keys.

"No. I wanna be alone for a while. Please."

Steve couldn't hide the surprised look on his face. "oh, ok."

She waved goodbye to all guys and left the building. Steve stared in her direction until she had disappeared from sight. He sat down with a heavy sigh.

"You're such a idiot, you know that?" Chin nodded in agreement with Danny's words.

"huh, what?" he was genuinely surprised at the comment.

"Go after her!"

"She just said that she wanted to be alone, Danny!" Confused at how the other two could see that he wanted to run after her so badly.

"She wants to be alone means for like about an hour or so. Geez, did they teach you nothing at Navy school!" Danny loved to tease him.

"But.."

Finally Chin interjected. "Go Steve. She needs you now. More than she needs me or Danny."

"And you don't mind?" he wasn't sure if he wanted the answer to the question.

"If you keep acting as dumb as you are right now, then I might have a problem."

Steve gave a big grin, grabbed his keys and jacket and ran out the door. ..


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi Guys! So this is my final chapter of the story! All the action is done, so this one is completely fluffy! Hope I do it some justice!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. **

**Chapter 8**

Steve went past Kono's house, he knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Either she wasn't at home or the guys had been wrong and she wasn't up to his company. Steve decided to try her favourite surfing spot before he headed to his place. Even though it was nightfall he suspected she might be there, but alas she was not. He decided to head home in defeat.

When he reached his house he noticed a familiar vehicle parked outside. He searched around for its owner, but could not see her. He entered his house, chucked his keys and jacket on the couch and headed to the porch and noticed a dark figure sitting on the beach. He sighed a relieved sigh and headed to where the lonely figure sat.

Kono was on the beach, staring at the waves crashing in front of her. She was seated with her feet digging into the sand in front of her. Every now and then she would play with a handful of sand but eventually dusting it off to move the hair from her face as the light wind blew it around. Her first thoughts were of the man she had killed that day. She really didn't intend on killing him, but that's how it happened. She wasn't sorry. She thought about Brian and how she didn't love him and decided it was better for him that she didn't lie. The image of him lying on the ground and hardly able to breathe came to mind. She closed her eyes. How he was so proud that he had protected her. She thought about the guilt she felt that while Brian was telling her that he loved her, she was thinking of Steve. _What a horrible person I am! How could I do that to one of my best friends?_ Her thoughts were interrupted by soft footsteps behind her. She turned quickly.

"Didn't think I would find you hear." His voice was soft.

"Hey," she looked as though she were ready to bolt, almost embarrassed to be caught outside his house.

"Kinda thought you might need some company. Do you?"

"Yeah. I could do with some company, otherwise I'll probably just end up drowning in my own thoughts. I hope you don't mind me being here." She smiled a little.

Steve sat beside her, grabbed a handful of sand and stared out at the ocean. "Mi Casa su casa. So, what thoughts are these that are drowning you?"

"You know, stuff. Brian, Ian, the last couple of days. Its been really confusing." She bit her lip. She had wanted to say 'you', but couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Yeah, its been crazy. You doing ok though?" He searched her eyes for some kind of hint that maybe he was on her mind as well.

"I'm good. Just struggling a bit though. Brian…" She hesitated, " … he said a lot of things and well.. I didn't."

"Ah, that he loved you?"

"yeah, that. Just feel like if I was dying…"she bit her lip again, " and there was somebody I cared about standing above me, I would want them to tell me they loved me, even if they didn't." She turned and looked into his eyes, hoping he would say something to make this argument in her head disappear.

"Sometimes Kono, we have to look past all the what ifs or if onlys'. For instance, my dad. Sometimes I think that if Hesse's brother hadn't of died that day then maybe my Dad would still be alive. "

She could see that the memory still caused him pain. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he stared at the ocean some more.

"For bring back bad memories." She was still staring at him.

He looked in her direction and bumped her shoulder with his. "Kono, the last thing that comes to mind when I'm with you is bad memories." His smile was infectious. She felt her cheeks getting warm, even though the rest of her body was cool.

"Come on, let's get you out inside. It's getting pretty cool out here."

"Steve, thank you, but best be heading home."

"Kono, I am pulling rank as your boss. That wasn't a question, it was a command. Lets go lady." He smiled a broad smile again and she was on the verge of a giggle. Mission accomplished, he thought to himself.

"Ok…Boss!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They walked into the house and Kono breathed in the smell of the place. Before it had been a place of refuge and safety. Tonight it felt like a new adventure. They ordered some Chinese Take Away. There dinner was fun. They talked about the SEALs and shared stories about growing up on the island.

Kono had a shower and dressed herself in some clothes that she had kept in her car. She was now wearing a tank and some soft cotton shorts. She bustled around in the kitchen while Steve took a shower and by the time her came back downstairs all was tidy except for one or two cartons that they were still busy munching from. They chatted for a long while after this. By the time they checked it was about one thirty in the morning.

Steve looked at his watch and gave a yawn. "Wow, good company really makes time fly." He got up and took all the empty cartons to the kitchen. When Kono started to get up to help he gestured for her to stay seated. "Look, the guest room should be all setup for you. If you need anything just give me a shout." He was moving around in the kitchen.

"Steve," her voice was soft and sounded almost frightened.

He stopped what he was doing and look in her direction.

"I don't want to go to sleep yet." She looked at him with worried eyes.

"Hey," He walked over to where she sat on the couch, " I'm right here, you know that right?"

She nodded.

"Anything you need , okay?"

She nodded again, but this time a small tear was sliding down her face. Steve sat beside her and pulled her close. It was the only real physical contact they had had all night. Kono couldn't help herself. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight. Steve was taken aback, but he loved the way she was depending on him. She was such a tough woman that he thought that sometimes even she didn't realise that she needed to be held.

"Can we sit up for a little longer, just till I fall asleep?" She was pleading with him with her eyes.

"Nope, you need to get some sleep."

Kono's expression was evident. She looked disappointed. With that Steve got off the couch and turned the kitchen lights off. Kono started to get up and walk towards the guest bedroom. Before she got past the stairway Steve came up behind her and picked her up like a groom would his bride. She looked startled. He started to walk up the stairs with her in his arms.

"What are you doing?" she grinned at him.

"I'm killing two birds with one stone." He grinned back, "You need someone to hold, I need to sleep, therefore we will do both… in my bed." He was nervous that she would buck out of his arms and make a run for it, but was pleasantly surprised when all she did was rest her head on his shoulder and smile.

Steve allowed Kono to stand next to the bed while he undid the covers. She watched him with eagle eyes and bit her lip. She felt like a little school girl. She hopped on the bed as soon as he offered her a place. He jumped in beside her.

"You do realise this is the third time we've slept…in the same bed." She had to catch herself from saying something she would regret.

"Yup, kinda thinking you should become my room mate. This is becoming a habit you know, one I can live with."

"Really now?" She nestled safely on her side. Her arm across his chest and her hand resting above his pecks. Her heart was racing. She hoped that he wouldn't feel it. He did, and was making a mental note of how he was sure that both of their hearts were beating at the same speed. He smiled as she snuggled close to him. He had his arm draped over her back and his hand resting on her waist. He shifted his body so that he could look at her face. She lifted her head.

"Night Kono." He laid the sweetest kiss on her lips and let it linger for a few seconds before pulling back to see her reaction.

"Night Steve." She felt as if she were about to explode. She swallowed hard and leaned in for a kiss of her own. When their lips touched she could feel a small bolt of electricity flowing through her veins. She had to use all of her inner strength to pull away. She smiled as she laid her head back onto his chest, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning the sun was trickling into the room through the curtains when Kono stretched her body as she was awakening. She felt a familiar touch on her skin. When she lifted her head and stared at the man lying next to her she smiled when she noticed that he had his eyes closed, but was smiling.

"Good morning Commander," She teased.

"Good morning ma'am." He teased back.

Just then he made a swift movement and had her pinned under the weight of his body. He leaned on one arm and traced a finger down her face, neck and eventually ending at her collarbone. She trembled at his touch and started to breathe heavily. The stare between them felt like it would melt ice in seconds. He slowly leaned his lower body onto hers and then lowered his head and they were locked in a passionate kiss. Their bodies heated up at the first touch of their lips. They both smiled as the kiss was ending. Kono ran her hand over the side of his face and down his torso, eventually running little circles with her finger over his abdomen. She stared up at him with wide brown eyes. She swallowed hard as he slowly lowered himself onto her again.

Small groans of pleasure escaped from both of them. Eventually Steve lifted his lips off of hers and took a deep breathe.

"I think this is going to be a very good morning…"

"I think so too… now stop talking."

THE END!

**Hope you guys have had as much fun reading as I have writing it!**


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